A concrete driveway is one of the longest lasting surfaces you can put down, but prices quoted online vary wildly and rarely explain what is included. As a groundworks firm based in Chorley, we price these jobs week in, week out. Here is an honest breakdown of what drives the cost and what a realistic budget looks like in 2026.
For a plain, brush finished concrete driveway laid properly on a prepared sub base, most UK homeowners should budget somewhere between £70 and £110 per square metre. In the North West, including Chorley and the wider Lancashire area, quotes often sit towards the lower half of that range because labour costs are lower than in the South East, where the same job can push £120 to £140 per square metre.
Decorative options cost more. Pattern imprinted concrete typically runs from £90 to £140 per square metre because of the extra labour in colouring, stamping and sealing. As a whole job figure, a single car driveway of around 15 to 20 square metres usually lands between £1,500 and £3,000, while a double driveway of 40 to 50 square metres is more often £3,500 to £6,000 depending on ground conditions and access.
The concrete itself is only part of the bill. Ready mix concrete currently costs roughly £100 to £130 per cubic metre delivered, and a driveway laid at 100 to 150mm thick uses more than people expect. The bigger variables are underneath: dig out and muck away, the sub base, and drainage. Removing an old tarmac or flagged drive and carting the spoil away can add £500 to £1,500 on its own, as tipping charges have risen sharply in recent years.
Access matters too. If a concrete wagon can discharge straight onto the drive, the job is quicker and cheaper. If everything has to be barrowed or pumped from the road, expect the labour element to climb. Sloped plots, tree roots, unrecorded pipes and soft clay ground, which is common across parts of Lancashire, can all mean deeper dig outs and more stone before a slab can safely go down.
Since 2008, planning rules in England say that if you lay more than five square metres of impermeable surface at the front of your house and the water drains onto the road, you need planning permission. Concrete is impermeable, so a compliant job needs the water directed to a lawn, border, soakaway or a channel drain connected to a suitable outlet. A channel drain across the entrance typically adds £150 to £400; a new soakaway can add £500 to £1,000 or more.
This is worth asking about when comparing quotes. A cheap price that ignores drainage is not a bargain, because standing water damages the slab over time, can flood towards your house, and puts you on the wrong side of the regulations. Any decent contractor will explain where the water is going before they explain the price.
Two quotes for the same driveway can be hundreds of pounds apart and both be fair, if they are pricing different specifications. Ask each contractor to confirm the dig out depth, the sub base thickness (150mm of compacted MOT Type 1 is a sensible minimum), the concrete thickness and strength, whether reinforcement is included, and how expansion joints will be handled. Joints matter: concrete will crack, and good joint placement controls where.
Be cautious of anyone who can start tomorrow, wants a large cash deposit, or quotes a round figure without visiting the site. Ground conditions cannot be priced from a photograph. A proper quote follows a site visit, itemises the work, and includes spoil removal and reinstatement of anything disturbed, such as kerbs or garden edges.
You can usually walk on it after 24 to 48 hours, but keep vehicles off for at least seven days. Concrete continues gaining strength for around 28 days, so avoid heavy vans or skips in the first month.
Plain concrete usually costs a little more than tarmac but less than quality block paving. Over its lifespan of 25 to 40 years with minimal maintenance, it often works out the cheapest option per year of use.
Not if the water drains to a permeable area within your own boundary, such as a lawn, border or soakaway. If more than five square metres drains onto the public highway, planning permission is required, so drainage should be designed in from the start.